My brain isn’t clogged with wisdom (though really, is it ever?) and my thoughts aren’t too profound. But as always, I’ll divulge a bit of what’s on my mind, because there’s always a little something happening in my super-tired-today brain.

First up, today is a rest day. I have been toying with the idea of making my way to a yoga class at some point to get myself all stretchy and bendy, but that’s not rest, now is it? I should just foam roll and stretch tonight. My body is feeling really tight today. My legs are heavy and my left IT band/hip area doesn’t seem to be thrilled with all the running I’ve been doing lately. So there was no early morning spin class today. There will be no lunchtime spin class either. Because on Friday, we rest.

Secondly, I think my feet are shrinking. Does that happen? I’d love some facts on the matter. Last night I finally busted out my beautiful new purple Brooks Adrenalines and was excited to run with them.

Purple laces and fuzzy legwarmers. I can't think of a happier combination. Except maybe hot chocolate and sweatpants, or chocolate and peanut butter, or chocolate and caramel, or chocolate and Ali.

But when I slipped them on, they felt big. I checked them compared to the other eight pairs of Adrenalines in my apartment, and they size up exactly the same — same length, same width, just a very different smell at this point.

And then today, I put on a pair of heels that I always wear, and they, too, felt big. Maybe it’s a winter thing, or a 26-year-old thing, I don’t know. But my feet are already kind of small, and I don’t think they need to go any smaller or I won’t have very good balance. I’m top heavy. I need support in my feet.

The third thing I’d like to discuss is Simon, Coach Cane’s son. He’s still wicked cute and I got to see him last night.

Here's Simon, all cuddled up with Nicole/Mrs. Coach Cane. They make a cute pair.

He mostly sleeps, grows and sometimes makes little noises. He doesn’t cry, from what I’ve seen, and he’s very snuggly. I was also digging his striped hat last night. So trendy. So stylish.

Fourth topic: Running. Let’s discuss last night’s run, because it wasn’t my strongest but it was actually pretty good. I ran with Coach Cane’s City Coach runners, which I’m hoping to turn into a regular Thursday night thing. Those people are so fast and since I don’t want them all to be waiting for me at the end of the workout, I tend to try to run fast as well.

I jogged from my apartment to the JackRabbit Upper West Side store where the group meets (about 2.3 miles), and when the group gathered, Coach Cane described the workout:

Warm-up from JackRabbit into Central Park at West 72nd Street

Continue warm-up north on the west side to the West 102nd Street Transverse

First pickup: 2 counterclockwise Harlem loops + an extra trip across the 102nd Street Transverse (hills! 3.1 miles of ’em) at half marathon goal pace (I was shooting for sub-8:00/mile)

Second pickup: 1 mile run from Engineer’s Gate to the East 72nd Street Transverse (1 mile) at 5K pace (ideally this would have been around a 7:20 pace, but that’s ambitious)

Cool-down from East 72nd Street back to JackRabbit

Hang out with Simon

I loved the idea of this workout since it combined both speed and hills. Hills are my ultimate weakness and they crush me every time. So note to self, Ali: More hill training = better, stronger runner. Add that to the list.

I definitely went out too fast on the first pickup, because I felt good. I guess this is another one of my weaknesses. I tend to think I can hang onto any pace in the world, and that is why I rarely if ever negative split races.

I kept up a solid pace during the hill portion of the workout, but couldn’t get up to the pace I wanted during the 1 mile dash. My stomach was feeling super funky at that point, and mentally I just kind of phoned it in. Could I have run a little faster? Maybe. But my quads were burning, so I did a reasonable push and called it a day.

Here’s how the run clocked in:

10 miles on a Thursday night. Decent.

Coach Cane agrees with what many of you said: I need to learn to use the “lap” function on my watch so I can have accurate, helpful splits. But miles 5–7 were the first pickup and mile 9 was the second pickup.

And that is why today is a rest day.

Fifth topic: I don’t know how people do hard workouts at night and then eat dinner. I had a very hard time chowing down by the time I got home last night. I can never eat right after long runs or races. I have no appetite and need some time for my insides to settle down. Brian and I ordered one of my favorite delivery items last night — some Indian food dish he introduced me to with a name I can’t remember — and by the time it arrived, I wanted nothing to do with it. Naturally, however, I woke up today starving.

Lastly, I am thisclose to hitting the registration button for the Eugene Marathon. It hasn’t happened yet, but with Coach Cane’s blessing, I’m further convinced that I need to make a spring marathon happen. I’m ready. I’d very much like for this to happen. I’m motivated.

This is the part in my JackRabbit campaign video where I scream into the camera, "I'M MOTIVATED!" Brian quotes it. Often. I think he's making fun of me when he does that.

my feet shrunk a few years ago – not a ton, i think about half a size? i noticed it a little while after i had lost some weight. but that was also not long after I had broken my foot – so maybe that was it?

That looks like an awesome workout! Nice job! I definitely have trouble eating after long runs and hard workouts also. I almost never eat enough the day of a long run and then the next day I wake up and turn into a human trash disposal and eat EVERYTHING. It’s super lady like.
Enjoy your rest day! I hope your feet stay the right size. Fitting into running sneakers is important! 🙂

I have the brooks with the purple laces…. my first pair of brooks, i switched from sauconys because i didn’t like the ‘style’ of them anymore… ie colors. The Brooks are so much prettier… and i like running in them better.

I did Harlem Hill reps last night too!!! I would’ve loved to run into you because I was pretty much by myself, which lead me to be constantly thinking about what I would do if someone jumped out of the dark bushes at me. Logical.
Rest day for me too! Enjoy it!

My girlfriend, who I recently moved in with, doesn’t usually exercise — she’s one of those naturally cute all the time people. It’s annoying in some ways because I need to exercise at least three or four times a week for weight loss and just to maintain my sanity.

How do you and Brian (or anyone who’s in a similar situation) make room for exercise without feeling like you’re ignoring your partner (especially if you live with them)?

It’s adorable that you say your girlfriend is “naturally cute all the time.” Love it.

As for Brian and me: We tend to coordinate our workouts. He’s a cyclist and I’m a runner. We don’t live together but we do spend many nights together, so we set an alarm for very early on weekdays (usually 5 am) and motivate each other to get up and get moving. Then I run to Central Park and he rides there. He also tends to work a bit later than I do, so if I’m going to the gym after work and he’s at the office, we end up getting back to each of our apartments at a similar time—dinner time!

And we work out together! We’ve taken a few spinning classes together, which I love, because you get your workout in AND your buddy time. Plus going for walks together on the weekends is a nice option, too, if your girlfriend isn’t into exercising.

Sometimes, when your feet get stronger, they shrink a bit due to strength in the arch! My hubby switched to the Vibram Five Fingers (from more traditional running shoes) and his feet went down half a size. Bodies are weird!

Okay, so this has to stop–my team (Urban Athletics) was doing tempo mile repeats between 72nd and 102nd last night, too! I passed you on 102nd Transverse. You have good form, btw, I admired your arm swing. It occurs to me that you thought I was a weird starer. BTW this is what I look like: http://nyrr.org/resources/photos/2011/lebow_xc/gallery.asp#11

Does that make you think I’m more of a creepster, or less? Really, I’m just another 24-y-o newbie runner and I read all these blogs about awesome runners in the city and I’m like… I should say hi…

And on that awkward note, I always have trouble eating after workouts, too… and trouble sleeping. I got to sleep last night around 2:00 am. It was awful.

Love the new site redesign alli! i guess i am a few days late, but it looks great!
you should definitely do the eugene marathoN! it seems like marathon training was really fun for you, and that you loved the whole experience.. so you should do it again!

I feel the same way, after a long run I can not eat for hours. I was told my stomach slows down in order to handle the running and sometimes it just takes a while to start back up. YEAH for a spring marathon 🙂

My feet shrunk! In middle school I wore an 8.5 in high school I shrunk to a 7.5 and a couple of months ago I realized my shoes were getting big and now wear a 6.5. I’m 24 and hoping they don’t shrink anymore! I was starting to worry but I am glad to see I am not the only one! Hah

My feet have definitely shrunk since I started running. All of my heels and flats slip off of the back of my feet now, and instead of buying a 9, I’m now usually picking out the 8.5. I’m not really sure why it happens since dancing made my feet wider, but I feel better knowing other people have experienced this because I was beginning to wonder if it’s just my body being crazy.
And without getting super nerdy, there is a reason why people have a hard time eating after a tough workout. Exercise slows digestion, and it takes a while for it to start going again after you finish working out…which means you’re not really hungry for a while. (<– Thank you side job as a TA for that knowledge.)

Wow – look at you so super speedy!! You are flying! I think you should totally sign up for Eugene. You are already running quite a bit and your speed has increased a lot – you would have a great race. Just my two cents. Can’t wait to hear if you sign up!

My feet have shrunk over the years…someone once told me that if you lose weight, you can lose weight in your feet. I never really looked into that. But…I used to wear a women’s 12 and now am down to a 10 1/2 (try finding that size…impossible!).